Masters 2017: Storms stop Par-3 Contest, last day of practice

Preparations for the Masters continued to be disrupted as storms over Augusta caused Wednesday's practice to be suspended for 2 1/2 hours.

Strong spring storms continued to plague the Masters on Wednesday, bringing a halt to the traditional Par-3 Contest and forcing tournament officials to clear to Augusta National grounds a second time.

Play was suspended at 1:25 pm Eastern Time, less than an hour after gates were reopened following a 10am suspension.

The day's second stoppage cut short the final afternoon of practice before Thursday morning's start of the first major of the year and marked the second day this week that play was suspended.

On Monday, heavy rain and thunderstorms halted play for the day at 2:30pm, but clearer skies allowed players to get more time on the course on Tuesday.

According to the National Weather Service, the forecast for during the tournament is better, although high winds, gusting to 40 miles per hour, are expected on Thursday before moderating to the 20 mph range on Friday, following the line of storms that are moving through the area into Wednesday evening.

By the weekend, the forecast is for sunny skies, with high temperatures in the 70s.